Cornwall disabled row councillor Collin Brewer resigns again

Collin Brewer was censured by the authority this week for "grossly offensive" comments

A councillor who said disabled children should be "put down" has resigned from Cornwall Council for a second time.

Collin Brewer, who stood down from the council over his comments in 2011, was re-elected in May.

He was censured by the authority this week for other "grossly offensive" comments that apparently linked disabled children to deformed lambs.

The council confirmed it received his resignation. Mr Brewer, 68, has not been available for comment.

In 2011, independent Wadebridge East councillor Mr Brewer told a charity worker "disabled children cost the council too much money and should be put down".

'Right decision'

He apologised after those comments were raised again this February. He resigned, saying his remarks had been intended to stir up debate.

He was returned to the council in this year's local elections.

A formal investigation was then started after he re-told the Disability News Service (DNS) he believed there was a good argument for killing some disabled babies with high support needs because of the cost of providing them with services.

Afterwards, he said he believed in the "sanctity of all life".

Cornwall Council said Mr Brewer's letter to its monitoring officer confirmed he had formally resigned with immediate effect.

The chief executive of disability charity Scope, Richard Hawkes, said Mr Brewer "made the right decision in stepping down".

He said: "The councillor's ill-judged and insensitive comments on disabled children demonstrated that he was clearly not fit for office.

"Luckily, such sickening views are rare. But, almost a year on from the Paralympics, disabled people tell us that public attitudes towards them remain an issue."